Rise of the OtherGod Apostle: Not a Cult Leader, but a Serf?!

#065Reader Mode

#065

Athanas always seemed to keep to himself, never really trying to make friends. You’d think that would make him an easy target for players, but somehow these guys just left him alone, even when he was at his loneliest and desperate for someone to talk to.

That just doesn’t add up.

Maybe it’s just some crazy coincidence that only the players who didn’t like Athanas ended up possessing characters here.

But still, if someone got picked for this, they must be a hardcore player.

And what dedicated player wouldn’t jump at the chance to buddy up to the main character?

If I hadn’t gotten stuck with such a trashy unit, you bet I would’ve been trying to get in good with Athanas too. Well, at least I would have if I could’ve increased my mental strength stat.

See, the higher your mental strength, the better you can resist fear.

At least then I wouldn’t be so scared that I can’t do anything, like I am now.

…Ugh, even just thinking about it makes me angry.

Damn that HappyGod bastard…

They’ve made it impossible to increase my mental strength.

If I could’ve increased it, I wouldn’t have to keep dodging those creepy maggot priests…

But anyway, it’s pretty obvious the players have some kind of unspoken rule about steering clear of Athanas. It just doesn’t make sense that no one would approach him otherwise.

Unless… right after joining the Order, they got trapped or killed…

I quickly pushed that awful thought out of my head. No way something that messed up could happen in a heretic-tolerant group like the Church of Order!

We’ve already figured out that all those nasty rumors about the Order were just a bunch of lies, haven’t we? Spread by the OtherGods and propaganda to turn players against them.

People should believe what they see and hear with their own eyes and ears.

So the Saint must have summoned me to warn against talking to Athanas.

When ‘Fabio’ hears that, he needs to act totally confused. It’s not enough to just pretend, especially with Ter next to me who can see emotions…

I need to recall the confusion I felt in that moment.

I prepared myself as the ornate door creaked open and stepped into the Saint’s chambers.

The Holy Maiden (Male version) turned, his molten silver eyes finding me instantly. “Ah, Fabio. I’ve been expecting you.”

Wow…

I quickly averted my eyes to the tip of his chin.

I almost forgot what I was thinking about just now.

“Hello, your holiness. I heard you needed to speak with me?”

“Please, have a seat.” The Saint gestured to the two chairs facing each other at a table. “This might take some time.”

As I sat down across from Pell, my nerves started kicking in.

“So, what is the reason you called me here…”

Pell leaned forward, his expression grave. “I have a question of great importance. I need you to answer with complete honesty.”

I swallowed hard.

What could it possibly be that the Chief Apostle considers it so important?

No matter what question comes my way, I have to be ready to react on the fly with the perfect response.

Even if I’ve anticipated the question and mentally prepared, I can’t let it show…

“Fabio.” The weight of ages seemed to reverberate in that single word.

“Yes?” I replied, cool as a cucumber.

“Do you know what ‘sexual intercourse’ is?”

“…Pardon?”

…Come again?

Did I hear that right?

In an instant, all my careful mental preparations flew out the window.

Sexual intercourse?

Did his holiness really just ask about the gamete rendezvous living beings undergo to produce offspring?

“…Umm, you mean the thing that happens between a man and a woman to make a baby?”

“Ah, so you do know about it,” the Saint replied with a sagely nod.

How could I not know?

What, do serfs reproduce by sprouting from the ground like daisies? Are they unaware of what sex is?

“But there’s something you don’t know though, Fabio.”

…What?

“There are sexual acts that are not for creating children,” he explained.

Why would he think I don’t know that?

I was utterly dumbfounded.

That’s like asking me to define ramen, which is ‘instant noodles with powdered soup’ and then going ‘Aha! But there are unfried noodles in this world too!’

Yeah, no kidding! I just gave the basic definition of it…

As a modern person, I would overwhelmingly know more about such things.

But why are you asking me about this?

I thought this was supposed to be some super serious, important question?

Is discussing the finer points of sexual acts really worth calling me over for a one on one chat?

Wait a minute…

A terrible realization began to dawn on me. There’s one particular act of recreational sex that coincidentally shares a name with the saintly figure sitting before me… Oh no…

…Has the Saint found out how his name sounds to Korean players?

And if so, has he also discovered the real reason I’ve been unable to say his full name out loud?

Is this a kill question to confirm I’m a player that knows more than I let on?

Suddenly, I could feel cold sweat beading on my forehead.

Was this why Adna was ready to kill me the instant she laid eyes on me today?

I squirmed anxiously internally, unable to formulate a response. But the Saint mercilessly continued. “Same-sex intercourse is a prime example.”

…Out of the blue, we’re talking about homosexuality now?

I mean, I’m relieved he’s not pursuing the whole name debacle.

But homosexuality?

Where’s he going with this?

…in medieval Christian society, any sexual pleasure outside of procreative sessions between lawfully wedded spouses was considered a first-class ticket to eternal damnation.

So even masturbation was deemed sinful.

Homosexuality was treated as a crime so heinous that discovery meant facing the death penalty too.

“Fabio, are you aware that sexual relations between individuals of the same gender are possible?” the Saint inquired.

Of course, I know. How could any halfway informed person in the modern era not be aware of this?

But again, why was he even asking me this? Surely even a humble serf like ‘Fabio’ would have some inkling…

No wait, maybe ‘Fabio’ really doesn’t know?

I racked my brain, trying to conjure up terms related to same-sex intercourse that a medieval peasant might be familiar with.

Nothing comes to mind.

You’d think even a bumpkin from the most backwater village would have heard cautionary tales of folks being harshly disciplined for such ‘crimes’, but strangely, no helpful narrative windows popped up to offer guidance.

…Come to think of it, I don’t recall ever coming across a case of someone being punished for homosexual acts in the ⟨Casebook⟩ either.

Then perhaps…

Could it be that receiving the Blessing of Order hardwires people to be straight as an arrow?

It would certainly explain the total absence of same-sex punishments in the ⟨Casebook⟩.

I mean, if something is so far outside people’s frame of reference that they can’t even conceive of it, there’s hardly a need for deterrents and punishments, is there?

And it indeed would be irrational to punish actions stemming from innate urges.

It seems the advanced and merciful God of Order found a clever workaround for the whole ‘oppressing innocent homosexuals’ conundrum by making it unnecessary to oppress them in the first place.

Of course, by modern standards, the notion of manipulating and ‘correcting’ someone’s innate desires would be seen as a horrifyingly discriminatory overreach. But we’re dealing with medieval sensibilities here.

After all, by today’s enlightened standards, persecuting people for having different religious beliefs would also be considered wrong.

Anyway, I think I’ve figured out why the Saint decided to ask me about this.

Since I haven’t received the Blessing of Order, he probably realized there’s a chance I might still be prone to a little same-sex canoodling. Something that wouldn’t even register as a blip on the radar for everyone else.

I guess this is a conversation Elamin couldn’t have with me.

It takes someone like the Saint, with his divine insider knowledge, to truly grasp the aspects of human nature that the God of Order saw fit to ctrl-alt-delete.

Can you imagine trying to explain the concept of homosexuality to someone like Elamin, who’s been Order-blessed up to his eyeballs? Poor guy would probably be as shocked and appalled as if you’d just given him a play-by-play of bedbug mating rituals. ¹T/N: The bed bug mating ritual is pretty rough ngl. When a male bed bug is ready to mate, he will approach a female and engage in a process called ‘traumatic insemination’. This means that the male bed bug will use his sharp reproductive organ to pierce the female’s abdomen and inject sperm directly into her body. Once the sperm is transferred, the female bed bug will store it in a special organ called the “spermatheca” for later use in fertilizing her eggs. （＞人＜；）

Alright, so Fabio’s gotta play dumb here, right? Like he’s never even heard of such a thing.

“Sexual intercourse between two men…? I can’t quite imagine how that works.” I said, channeling the same confused feeling I had when I first heard about that double-slit experiment in physics. ²T/N: The double-slit experiment is a famous experiment in physics that demonstrates the nature of particles and waves. It involves shining a beam of particles, like electrons or photons (particles of light), through two closely spaced slits onto a screen. Surprisingly, even when the particles are sent through one at a time, an interference pattern emerges on the screen, similar to what you would expect from waves. This means that the particles seem to behave like waves and exhibit wave-like properties, such as interference. It challenges our intuitive understanding of particles as solid, localized objects and suggests that they can also behave as waves, showing characteristics of both. You’re feeling confused reading this aren’t you? This is why MC chose this feeling to channel haha.

The Saint just looked at me quietly.

…Was my acting too obvious?

“Well, are you saying they can do masturbation together or something like that?”

I was trying my best here to act like a totally innocent serf who’s just now learning about the wild world of same-sex shenanigans.

But was the problem that I—a bastard that had been an internet addict since before safe search was a thing—tried to perform such abominable acting?

The Saint suddenly sighed.

“Fabio.”

“…Yes?”

“How old are you?”

“Pardon? Um…Twenty-three this year…”

“No, I mean before you became ‘Fabio.’”

“Before I became Fabio…?”

“I can see the life you lived before this one.”

His words sent a chill straight down my spine.

Can he see through the screen? Recognize the players on the other side?

I knew the Othergods could pull that off, but the Saint too? Damn.

What the hell was he thinking, watching me try to act like some clueless serf?

Conclude never got an official release here, but abroad it’s rated M for Mature, not suitable for minors.

What kind of grown-a*s gamer playing adult-rated games wouldn’t know about same-sex action?

It’s complete BS, and he knows it.

I could feel the cold sweat starting to trickle down my back now.

…First, I need to figure out just how much the Saint can see.

“What kind of person was I before?” I asked nervously.

Does he see my past life like one of those cliché reincarnation dramas through a video? Or is it more like a bird’s-eye view, watching me stumble through life?

Or maybe it’s like reading a dry, summarized record on someone?

Or…

…MotherGod could even see the posts I wrote while using a VPN.

So, can the Saint see everything I’ve anonymously written online too?

F*ck.

I’m screwed right?

Suddenly, images from my comments on game guides flooded my mind like a twisted montage:

ㄴ Reading this post made me think that the world is still somewhat peaceful because people like this guy are isolated from society, busy playing games…

ㄴ Is this game breeding crazies, or just keeping the crazies contained in this game?

ㄴ From today on, I pray that this as*shole who wrote this stays very, very healthy for a long time. I don’t want to fall into a hell after this bastard dies and the regime changes.

ㄴ So this is what true madness looks like…

ㄴ Shouldn’t this bastard be executed before he becomes a full-blown OtherGod?

“Fabio, you…”

… No, let’s calm down.

If he had seen my internet history, he wouldn’t have dared to call me innocent or anything remotely close to that.

So, what the Saint can see must have its limitations.

Perhaps he caught a glimpse of me no-life gaming at dawn like a proper shut-in…

“…were a woman,” the Saint concluded, his words hanging in the air.

I blinked, my mind reeling.

Huh? Come again?

“You were born into a life of privilege, cherished by a loving family…”

Not a single word ringing true so far.

“Renowned for your intelligence and beauty from a tender age.”

Aside from the bit about being smart, everything else is wrong?

“And tragically, your life was cut short by an accident when you were just 17.”

Seriously, what is this nonsense?

What the hell is the Saint looking at?

Did he look too far back?

Not just my life before the possession, but the existence that preceded even that?

So, you’re telling me that in my past life, I was a brilliant, beautiful, but short-lived young lady?

Born into a wicked capitalist family, draining the lifeblood of the working class?

Talk about a sh*tty reincarnation.

“…That’s the story they fed to the public. But the truth is, you survived.”

“What?”

Is this suddenly morphing into a gothic mystery novel straight out of the 19th century?

“They kept you in the dark, but your destiny was to become the next head of the household. The Order only allows for a maximum of two candidates, as a precaution against accidents. So, when the current head of the household conceived a second child, they staged your death, making it appear as though you perished in an accident. They couldn’t bear the thought of surrendering your body to the Order upon your actual demise.”

…So my past past life was in the Dark Realm?

“It’s not difficult to imagine the treatment you endured after being officially declared dead. That’s why I felt a sense of relief when you mentioned having no recollection of that life. However, it appears that Casimir’s curiosity was piqued by your past. She sought to verify the details you were unaware of, in an effort to uncover your origins.”

So, it wasn’t just her trying to avoid the hassle of guiding a newbie?

Wait a moment.

Something doesn’t add up.

“I punished her for disregarding my orders, but I also took the opportunity to reflect on my own actions. The fact that you have no memory of your past doesn’t necessarily mean you are entirely liberated from its grasp…”

A sense of dissonance crept over me.

The past that the Saint can perceive… could it be…?

“Fabio, I have one final question for you. Do you wish to uncover the truth about your forgotten past self?”

I kept my mouth shut.

It’s safer to say I don’t want to know.

That way, I could maintain the facade of ignorance.

Then I could keep thinking ‘Anyway, everything must be going well. Other players must be taking action and doing good things. The Order will handle it…’

As long as I don’t ask…

“…What was that person’s name?”

But I had to ask.

“Just the first name, please. No need for the family name.”

There was a crucial detail I needed to verify.

If the Saint says the name ‘Perpetua’…

It would mean that the Saint has never had a proper conversation with a player before.

‘Perpetua’ is a priest unit that emerges when you select traits such as [Displeasure], [Emotionless], or [Depression].

During my runs with the HappyGod macro on, she was the one who took the longest to become inoperable, so I simply repeated the game with her.

If he were to examine my ‘game log’ for this account, Perpetua’s name would undoubtedly show up.

But to consider that as my previous life?

It would imply that the Saint has no understanding of what a player truly is.

At the very least, it means that no one has introduced the Saint to concepts like Earth, computers, the internet, or gamers.

What does this signify?

It means there isn’t a single trustworthy player among those who have converted.

Naturally, there may be players among them who, like myself, are simply too scared to speak up.

But what if there really is a bastard with malicious intentions?

Does the Saint have the ability to weed out such scum?

Can’t he even tell that I’m being dishonest at this very moment?

I silently prayed that the Saint wouldn’t say the name ‘Perpetua.’

The Order should be omnipotent, a well-oiled machine that functions flawlessly even if I remain oblivious.

It should be a place where other players have already paved the way, cooperating diligently without any issues.

I just don’t want to be burdened by all these concerns.

I want to live comfortably, believing that it will all be over when Christmas comes.

Please…

“…Perpetua,” the Saint declared, crushing my hopes.

Sh*t.

“That was your name.”

I felt suffocated, my breath caught in my throat.

Does the Saint really not know what a player is?

Was there not a single trustworthy [Rider of civilization] player?

The Order is doomed.

T/N: Our boy Fabio is finally reaching the right conclusions this time. Where are the other players? Can the Order really win if they don’t know what a player is? (˘･_･˘)